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C0KRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



FUNDAMENTALS OF 
MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 



FUNDAMENTALS OF 
MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 



BY 

Dr. CAMERON B. ROWLINGSON 

i\ 

Syracuse University; College of Osteopathic Physicians 

and Surgeons; Associate Member of the Society of 

Applied Psychology; Honorary Member of the 

California Osteopathic Association. 



THIRD EDITION 



REVISED AND ENLARGED 



UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING CO., 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 



Price $3.00 



BF 



*{%£> 



Copyright, 1920, by 
DR. C. B. ROWLINGSON. 



MAY - 6 1920 



©CI.A566861 



FOREWORD 

Memory is the foundation on which your 
mental storehouse is built. A poor memory is 
like a foundation of sand — shifting, unreliable, 
uncertain. A good memory is like a foundation 
of rock — secure, certain, enduring. Successful 
men are men with good memories. The man with 
an accurate and dependable memory is the man 
who is marked for advancement. 

These lessons are the result of study and 
research extending over a period of more than 
four years. The aim has been to make the course 
concise by omitting useless stunts and other im- 
practical material; at the same time to make it 
complete by including all of the basic principles 
of memory development; in short, to make it 
clear, understandable, and practical, yet thor- 
oughly scientific. 



FOREWORD TO THE THIRD EDITION 

The rapidity with which the first two editions 
of this work were exhausted, making a third 
edition necessary, has been gratifying. Advan- 
tage has been taken of the opportunity to revise 
and considerably enlarge the book and to include 
in it an interesting article on the origin of names 
for which we are indebted to The Dearborn In- 
dependent; also some selections for practise in 
verbatim memorizing which will be found help- 
ful. 



CONTENTS 



Names 



PAGE 
13 



21 
29 

37 

45 
55 



LESSON 

I. The Way to a Better Memory 
II. General Considerations 

III. Impression, Attention, Interest 

IV. Concentration 

V. Association; How to Remember 
Faces, and Errands . 

VI. Numbers, Dates, Prices, etc. . 

VII. Verbatim Memorization of Poetry and 
Prose, Remembering Contents of 
Books and Articles 65 

VIII. How to Study Effectively 71 

Appendix A. Some Common Names and Their 

Origins 79 

Appendix B. Selections for Practice in Ver- 
batim Memorizing 88 

Appendix C. How to Make Abstracts: An 

Example . 102 



LESSON I 
The Way to a Better Memory 



11 



LESSON I 

The Way to a Better Memory 

Fundamentally, there are but two ways of 
developing the memory: one is by artificial 
"systems," and the other is by natural methods. 
Some of the artificial systems give surprizing 
results — temporarily, or on some particular 
stunt. Their basic principle, however, is un- 
sound, for they are nothing more nor less than 
a mental crutch, and they lack the universal 
applicability which characterizes the natural 
methods. Dr. Noah Porter says, "The artificial 
memory proposes to substitute for the natural 
and necessary relations under which all objects 
must present and arrange themselves, an entirely 
new set of relations that are purely arbitrary and 
mechanical, which excite little or no other inter- 
est than that they are to aid us in remembering. 
It follows that if the mind tasks itself to the 
special effort of considering objects under these 
artificial relations, it will give less attention to 
those which have a direct and legitimate interest 
for itself. " Granville says: "The defect of 

13 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

most methods which have been devised and em- 
ployed for improving the memory, lies in the 
fact that while they serve to impress particular 
objects on the mind, they do not render the 
memory, as a whole, ready or attentive." 

A fallacy frequently found in treatises on the 
memory is that of regarding the development of 
the memory as analagous to the development of 
a muscle. When muscles are developed by exer- 
cise, they become larger, owing to the addition 
of new muscle fibers; but developing the mem- 
ory does not increase the size of the brain. Com- 
mitting poetry to memory does not improve your 
memory for numbers or for names or for the 
facts of history or for anything else : that is, it 
does not improve the faculty of memory as a 
whole. Since memory is not muscle, its develop- 
ment must be based on a different principle. 
When a person learns to play the piano the skill 
he acquires is not due to any increase in size of 
either brain or muscle, but is due to the develop- 
ment of brain and nerve paths. You may learn to 
play "pieces" of music without mastering the the- 
ory and principles of music : Similarly, by means 
of the artificial method of memory training, you 
may retain pieces of knowledge. In order, how- 
ever, to acquire the ability to play any music at 
sight, you must study the theory and principles 
of music in general and learn how to apply the 
fundamental principles to any particular musical 

14 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

composition. The course of lessons in this little 
book gives you the fundamental principles of 
the natural method of memory training, based 
on laws of mental action as proved by scientific 
investigation. 

Once- you master these basic principles, you 
can apply them to anything you want to remem- 
ber. An evening of study of the natural method 
will not enable you to startle your friends with 
some spectacular stunt; but a little study every 
day, combined with practise of the principles, 
will in a few weeks bring results that will prove 
to you the superiority of this method. Halleck 
says: "Improvement comes by orderly steps. 
Methods that dazzle at first sight never give 
solid results." In this as in other things, the 
race is not always to the swift. 

The mind that is turbulent or restless and 
over-burdened with what may be called mental 
rubbish is in a condition which is exceedingly un- 
favorable to good memory — rin fact, clear mem- 
ory is almost impossible in such a mind. Only 
the clear, calm pool of water gives a clear reflec- 
tion; likewise, it is the clear, calm mind that 
makes a clear memory. Confused thought must 
give way to orderly, logical thought. Mental 
strain and tension must be replaced by relaxa- 
tion. Scattered or diffused interests must resign 
in favor of the mental state in which the attention 
is sharpened to a point and focused on one thing 

is 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

at a time. This centering of the energies on one 
thing at a time is one of the secrets of accom- 
plishing the maximum amount of work with a 
minimum of fatigue. If you try to do two things 
at once, it tires the mind as well as the body. 

Discrimination plays an important part in 
good memory. It is just as essential to know 
what to omit from our mental records as to know 
what to put into them. It is harmful to the mem- 
ory to do a great amount of "light" reading 
which you do not intend to remember, for while 
you are reading with this attitude of mind, the 
mechanism of memory is thrown out of action, 
so to speak, thus developing a habit of not using 
it which makes it more difficult for you to use 
your memory when you want to do so. 

Not only is such reading injurious to the mem- 
ory, but it is a waste of time, for the time would 
be more profitably — and just as enjoyably — 
spent in reading something worth while. There 
are so many good books in the world that no 
one need waste his time with the other kind. 
Before spending any considerable amount of 
time on anything — whether it be reading a book, 
playing a game, or whatever it may be — stop 
and ask youself the question, "Is this worth 
while?" Holworthy Hall, the author, has an 
excellent test for determining what is wasted 
time. He says, "Any time I spend in doing 
what I don't affirmatively want to do, in view of 

u 



. 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

my ambitions and responsibilities, I call wasted." 
The best memory does not remember every- 
thing that comes to its attention; and it is not 
desirable that it should. Our mental experiences 
are so multitudinous in number that many 
things must be forgotten in order that we may 
remember those which we need. a This peculiar 
mixture of forgetting with our remembering is 
but one instance of our mind's selective activity. 
Selection is the very keel on which our mental 
ship is built; and in the case of memory its util- 
ity is obvious. If we remembered everything, 
we should on most occasions be as ill off as if we 
remembered nothing. It would take as long for 
us to recall a space of time as it took the original 
time to elapse, and we should never get ahead 
with our thinking. All recollected times under- 
go, accordingly, what M. Ribot calls foreshort- 
ening; and this foreshortening is due to the 
omission of an enormous number of the facts 
which filled them." (William James.) 

"As fast as the present enters into the past, 
our states of consciousness disappear and are 
obliterated. Passed in review at a few days' 
difference, nothing or little of them remains: 
Most of them are made shipwreck in that great 
nonentity from which they nevermore will 
emerge, and they have carried with them the 
quantity of duration which was inherent in their 
being. This deficit of surviving conscious states 

17 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

is thus a deficit of the amount of represented time. 
The process of abridgment of foreshortening, of 
which we have spoken, presupposes this deficit. 
If, in order to reach a distant reminiscence, we 
had to go through the entire series of terms which 
separate it from our present selves, memory 
would become impossible on account of the 
length of the operation. We thus reach the 
paradoxical result that one condition of our re- 
membering is that we should forget. Without 
totally forgetting a prodigious number of states 
of consciousness, and momentarily forgetting a 
large number, we could not remember at all. 
Oblivion, except in certain cases, is thus no mal- 
ady of memory, but a condition of its health and 
its life." (Ribot.) 



18 



LESSON II 

General Considerations 



19 



LESSON II 
General Considerations 

It is important at the outset to understand 
just what memory is and what is aimed at in its 
development, for unless we know where we are 
going, we shall be like the man in the song, "I 
don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my 
way." 

A very good definition of memory is the one 
given by the Century Dictionary: "The mental 
capacity of retaining unconscious traces of con- 
scious impressions or states, and of recalling 
these traces to consciousness with the attendant 
perception that they (or their objects) have a 
certain relation to the past." 

Locke's definition is also good: "The power 
to revive again in our minds those ideas which, 
after imprinting, have disappeared, or have 
been, as it were, laid aside out of sight, . . . 
is memory." In other words, memory is the 
knowledge of a fact or event which, having dis- 
appeared from consciousness, at a later time re- 
appears, together with the additional conscious- 

21 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

ness that we have thought or experienced it be- 
fore. 

Since the quality and quantity of brain tissue 
in a given person remains practically fixed, it 
follows that no system of memory training can 
enlarge what may be called the native retentive- 
ness of the individual. The advancement must 
come in mental habits and in methods of learn- 
ing; these are capable of almost unlimited im- 
provement. Many bad memories are merely 
bad habits. 

Your body is controlled by your nervous sys- 
tem, comprising brain, spinal cord, and branches 
extending to every part of the body. It is now 
an accepted principle in science that the brain 
may be regarded as a storage-battery, storing a 
form of energy in many respects like electricity, 
but which may be called nervous energy. Every 
activity of the body requires energy, and this 
energy is supplied from the brain storage-battery. 
Not the slightest activity of any part of the body 
can take place unless energy is sent to that part 
over the nerves, which may be compared to the 
wires going out from a central power station 
and carrying electrical energy to all parts of a 
city. When nervous energy arrives at a muscle 
it is transformed into motion — a process cor- 
responding to the transformation into motion 
of the electrical energy arriving in a motor over 
the wires from the power-house. 

22 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

Every purposeful act of life which is repeated 
at greater or less intervals is a habit, formed by 
the nervous current flowing repeatedly through 
a certain series of nerve wires and meeting with 
less resistance to its flow each time. The process 
may be very roughly illustrated in this way: if 
you walk across a freshly plowed field, there is 
considerable resistance to your passage the first 
time; but if you repeatedly walk over the same 
course, a path is soon formed which makes 
walking easy. Any act of mind or body which 
you repeat from time to time wears a path, so 
to speak, in your nervous system, and thus forms 
a habit. It is easily seen from this that you 
must have habits, whether you want them or 
not; you cannot escape them. Whether the 
habits you have are to be a help to your progress 
and your achievement, or whether they are to be 
the reverse, depends on you. You can make 
of yourself what you will, by directing your 
habit formation. Form habits of remembering, 
and you will have a good memory. If you have 
formed wrong habits and you want to get rid of 
them, you have a difficult task; but will-power 
and perseverance can accomplish it. Form right 
habits of study, of work, of play, of all the vari- 
ous activities of life, and you can attain any goal 
within reason you may set for yourself. 

These lessons give you methods for remem- 
bering. The first time you try to apply any 

23 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

particular method, you may find it hard, for you 
arc forcing nerve currents over paths they have 
never traveled before. Keep at it; each repeti- 
tion wears the path smoother and makes the 
method easier. Once the habit of remembering 
is established, it becomes as easy as not remem- 
bering. 

Our knowledge comes to us through the 
senses. Each thing that we learn arrives in the 
brain through one or more of these five channels, 
or paths: Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or 
feeling. Of these, the first two bring us the 
greater part of our intellectual knowledge. 

Some persons remember best the things they 
see ; such persons are said to have the visual type 
of memory. Others remember better the things 
they hear; these are said to have good auditory 
memory. In some persons the relative activity 
of the two types is about even. In addition to 
these types of memory, there is still another in 
which the mind retains its impressions best when 
the person either speaks aloud or writes the 
information which is to be memorized. This is 
known as the motor type of memory. 

In beginning the development of the memory, 
you should discover as soon as possible whether 
your memory is predominantly visual or audi- 
tory. One of the best ways to go about this is 
to review in your mind a number of facts which 
you have acquired in the past few weeks, or 

24 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

months, and in each case try to recall whether 
you first acquired the fact through your eyes or 
through your ears. Given facts of as nearly as 
possible the same comparative importance, the 
method of acquisition which has the greatest 
number of facts to its credit is the one which is 
best developed in you. 

Another method of determining this point, 
and one which will give an indication of the 
part played by the motor memory in your case, 
is as follows : 

Have a friend or member of your family 
make three lists, each containing fifteen unre- 
lated words, on three separate sheets of paper. 
Read the first list once carefully, then without 
referring to the paper, see how many you can 
repeat. Have someone read aloud, once, the 
second list, and see how many you can remember. 
Then take the third list, write each word once, 
and test yourself as before. Following is a list of 
words which you can use for the last test : 



city 


native 


automobile 


ocean 


book 


magazine 


hat 


calm 


lawyer 


lion 


chair 


simple 


ship 


excellent 


light 



When you have determined which is your 
predominant type of memory, that is the method 
you should use most frequently, for by so doing 



25 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

you are making the most of your natural facul- 
ties. None of the methods, however, should be 
neglected, and the more of them you use for any 
given fact, the more certain you are of remem- 
bering that fact. 



26 



LESSON III 

Impression, Attention, Interest 



n 



LESSON III 
Impression, 'Attention, Interest 

If you will refer to the definitions of memory 
given at the beginning, you will note that in each 
of them occurs the idea of the fact or event being 
again in consciousness. Many people fail to re- 
member because they never acquire a first im- 
pression. Without a first impression, the best 
memory in the world is helpless. If you are to 
remember a fact, that fact must previously have 
existed in your consciousness for a measurable 
period of time: there must have been a first 
impression. No system of memory culture can 
give you a magic power of making something out 
of nothing. 

The impressions which are best remembered 
are those which are 

( i ) New or startling, 

( 2 ) Most interesting, 

(3) Clearest or most vivid, 

(4) Frequently repeated, 

( 5 ) Most recently acquired. 

( 1 ) One of the chief reasons why we remem- 
ber the experiences of childhood so much better 

29 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

than those of our later years is that during this 
period the mind is fresh and even ordinary facts 
and events are surprising. 

(2) Most persons who say they have poor 
memories are usually found to have excellent 
memories for some particular kind of facts — 
and it is always for something that is of special 
interest to them. A woman may have a very 
poor memory for political facts, but an excellent 
one for the details of a dress which she admires. 
In the case of a man, this might be reversed. 
Some persons have a good memory for numbers 
but a poor memory for words, and vice versa. 
There are many young office clerks whose mem- 
ory for business facts is so poor that they never 
rise above mediocrity, who nevertheless exhibit 
an amazing capacity for retaining baseball scores 
and batting averages. If these same young men 
would take a corresponding degree of interest in 
their work, and would spend as much time study- 
ing and thinking about it, advancement in posi- 
tion and salary would take care of itself. To 
rise above the other fellow, it is only necessary 
to do better work than the other fellow. 

(3) It is a mistake to blame the memory 
when the real trouble lies in poor observation. 
Can you tell the relative position of the horns 
and ears on a cow? Which way does the head 
face on a two-cent postage stamp? If you can- 
not answer such questions as these correctly, it is 

30 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

not because you have not seen, but because you 
have not observed — because you have not ac- 
quired an impression. 

The power of observation can be wonderfully 
developed. Readers of Kipling's "Kim" will 
recall the amazingly detailed description by the 
native Hindu boy* of the fifteen precious stones 
which were shown to him for a few minutes only, 
and then put out of his sight. You can develop 
your power of observation by practice. As you 
walk along a business street where there are 
stores, stop a few minutes before some window 
containing a number of small articles. A 
jeweler's window is good. Look over the dis- 
play carefully, examining each object separately 
first, then the entire window as a whole. Then 
pass on and try to recall what is in the window. 

Another excellent means of developing the 
power of observation is by drawing on paper a 
simple picture of some ordinary object such as 
an inkstand or a vase. You need not be an 
artist to do this and the result of your effort may 
have no artistic value, but that does not matter. 
You will probably be surprised at the details you 
will notice that you had not observed before. 

In cultivating the power of observation, a 
little practice repeated every day is much more 
effective than a great effort followed by a period 
of inaction. Set yourself a little daily task of 
observing some thing carefully, picturing it in 

31 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

the mind in all its details. On the following day 
call up the picture, reproducing it as clearly as 
you can, and then compare the original object, 
and note any inaccuracies. Five minutes a day 
given to this is one of the best investments of 
time you can make, and the resulting develop- 
ment of your powers of observation — and conse- 
quently, of your memory — will repay you many 
times over. Accurate observation gives the clear 
mental impressions which are so essential to 
good memory. 

(4) Frequent repetition of an impression is 
the method which is perhaps more at the com- 
mand of the individual than any other. Every 
mental impression cannot be new or startling; 
all cannot be equally interesting, and certainly 
every impression cannot be most recent. We 
can, however, repeat ideas to ourselves as much 
as we wish. Probably everyone has heard the 
old saying, ''Repetition is the mother of learn- 
ing." This is only another way of saying that 
repetition is the mother of memory. Facts which 
we find dull but which we nevertheless find it 
necessary to remember, can be retained by this 
method. 

(5) The only way we can keep recent the 
impressions we wish to retain is by repetition. 
When we wish to memorize poetry or any other 
literary matter word for word, repetition is the 
method we must employ. 

32 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

Newly learned facts are retained best when 
no new mental activity follows the period of 
acquisition. The new memory material must 
figuratively "settle down", and is apt to be lost 
if it is stirred up by other mental engagements. 

Attention and Interest 

We have already seen that in order to have 
memory, we must first have an impression. The 
first step in acquiring an impression is attention. 
The word attention comes from two Latin words 
meaning to stretch toward. We must stretch 
our mind toward the fact or object we wish to 
remember. If we are interested in the fact or 
object, giving attention is easy; if not, it is more 
difficult, and it becomes necessary to bring our 
will-power into play to keep the attention cen- 
tered, or else find something to which the object 
is related, that we are interested in. The part 
played by interest in the mechanism of memory 
is an exceedingly important one. In itself, the 
average railroad time-table is a rather uninter- 
esting object, but when one begins to plan a trip, 
and wants to know the time of arrival and de- 
parture of trains, that same time-table takes on a 
very decided interest. If you are interested in 
your work, not only is it easier to do that work 
than something in which you are not interested, 
but you will be more successful in it than in the 
uninteresting work. 

33 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

A cardinal principle to be observed in develop- 
ing the power or habit of giving attention is to 
attend to only one thing at a time. It is one of 
the laws of mind that its attention can be directed 
to but one thing at a time. Some may appar- 
ently attend to two or more things at the same 
time, but accurate psychological investigation of 
this phenomenon has shown that in reality the 
mind is rapidly oscillating from one object of at- 
tention to another. 

The importance of giving undivided attention 
to whatever you want to remember is so great 
that it is safe to say that if you were to read these 
lessons through but once and were then to forget 
every principle laid down with the exception of 
this; if you were to remember this one and were 
to apply it, your memory would be noticeably 
better. 

To get the most from these lessons, however, 
more than a mere reading is necessary. They 
must be studied and applied. Many people wish 
they had a better memory, and then feel that 
they have not had a square deal because the act 
of wishing did not result in their being handed a 
better memory on a silver platter. You must do 
more than wish: you must desire, and desire so 
strongly that you will be impelled to action: 
then you will get results. 



34 



LESSON IV 
Concentration 



35 



LESSON IV 
Concentration 

The word concentrate comes from the Latin, 
and means literally to center together. "In con- 
centration, the consciousness is held to a single 
image; the whole attention is fixed on a single 
point, without wavering or swerving. The mind 
— which runs continually from one thing to an- 
other, attracted by external objects and shaping 
itself to each in quick succession — is checked, 
held in, and forced by the will to remain in one 
form, shaped to one image, disregarding all 
other impressions thrown upon it. 

"At the beginning of concentration, two diffi- 
culties have to be overcome. First, this disre- 
gard of the impressions continually being thrown 
on the mind. The mind must be prevented from 
answering these contacts, and the tendency to re- 
spond to these outside impressions must be re- 
sisted; but this necessitates the partial direction 
of the attention to respond to the act of resisting, 
and when the tendency has been overcome, the 
resistance itself must pass. Perfect balance is 
needed, neither resistance nor non-resistance, but 

37 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

a steady quietude so strong that impressions 
from outside will not produce any result, not 
even the secondary result of the consciousness 
of something to be resisted. 

"Second, the mind itself must hold as sole 
image, for the time, the object of concentration; 
it must not only refuse to modify itself in re- 
sponse to impacts from without, but must also 
cease its own inner activity wherewith it is con- 
stantly rearranging its contents, thinking over 
them, establishing new relations, discovering hid- 
den likenesses and unlikenesses. It has now to 
confine its attention to a single object, to fix itself 
on that. It does not, of course, cease its activity, 
but sends it all along a single channel. Water 
flowing over a surface wide in comparison with 
the amount of water, will have little motor 
power. The same water sent along a narrow 
channel, with the same initial impulse, will carry 
away an obstacle. Without adding to the 
strength of the mind, the effective strength of it 
is immensely increased. Imposing this inner still- 
ness on the mind is even more difficult than the 
ignoring of outside impacts, being concerned 
with its own deeper and fuller life. To turn the 
back on the outside world is easier than to quiet 
the inner, for this inner world is more identified 
with the Self — that part of our being which 
directs the activities of the mind. But keep at 
it and success will reward your efforts. 

38 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

"When the mind loses hold of its object — 
as it will do, time after time — it must be brought 
back, and again directed to the object. Often 
at first it will wander away without the wander- 
ing being noticed and the student suddenly 
awakens to the fact that he is thinking about 
something quite* other than the proper object of 
thought. This will happen again and again, and 
he must patiently bring it back — a wearisome 
and trying process, but there is no other way in 
which concentration can be gained. 

"It is a useful and instructive mental exercise 
when the mind has thus slipped away without 
notice, to take it back again by the road along 
which it traveled in its strayings. This process 
increases the control of the rider over his run- 
away steed, and thus diminishes its inclination to 
escape. 

"Consecutive thinking, though a step toward 
concentration, is not identical with it, for in con- 
secutive thinking the mind passes from one to 
another of a sequence of images, and is not fixed 
on one alone. But as it is far easier than con- 
centration, the beginner may use it to lead up to 
the more difficult task. 

"The universal complaint which comes from 
those who are beginning to practice concentra- 
tion is that the very attempt to concentrate re- 
sults in a greater restlessness of the mind. To 
some extent this is true, for the law of action 

39 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

and reaction works here as everywhere, and the 
pressure put on the mind causes a corresponding 
reaction. But while admitting this, we find on 
closer study that the increased restlessness is 
largely illusory. The feeling of such increased 
restlessness is chiefly due to the opposition sud- 
denly set up between the Self, willing steadiness, 
and the mind in its normal condition of mobility. 
The Self is accustomed to being carried about by 
the mind in all its swift movements, as a man is 
ever being carried through space by the whirling 
earth. He is not conscious of movement; he 
does not know that the world is moving, so thor- 
oughly is he part of it, moving as it moves. If 
he were able to separate himself from the earth 
and stop his own movement without being 
shivered into pieces, only then would he be con- 
scious that the earth is moving at a high rate of 
speed. So long as a man is yielding to every 
movement of the mind, he does not realize its 
continual activity and restlessness, but when he 
steadies himself, when he ceases to move, then 
he feels the ceaseless motion of the mind he has 
hitherto obeyed. 

"If the beginner knows these facts, he will 
not be discouraged at the very commencement 
of his efforts by meeting with this universal ex- 
perience but will, taking it for granted, go quietly 
on with his task. 

"When a man concentrates his mind, his body 

40 




FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

puts itself into a state of tension, and this is 
not noticed by him, is involuntary so far as he is 
concerned. This following of the mind by the 
body may be noticed in many things : an effort to 
remember causes a wrinkling of the forehead, 
fixing of the eyes, and drawing down of the 
brows ; anxiety is accompanied by a characteristic 
expression. For ages, effort of the mind has been 
followed by effort of the body, the mind being 
directed entirely toward the supply of bodily 
needs by bodily exertions, and thus a connection 
has been set up which works automatically. 

"When concentration is begun, the body, ac- 
cording to its wont, follows the mind and the 
muscles become rigid and the nerves tense ; hence, 
physical fatigue, muscular and nervous exhaus- 
tion and headache, sometimes follow in the wake 
of concentration, and thus people are led to give 
it up, believing that these effects are inevitable. 

"As a matter of fact, they can be avoided by 
a simple precaution. The beginner should now 
and again break off his concentration sufficiently 
to notice the state of his body, and if he finds it 
strained, tense, or rigid, he should at once relax 
it; when this has been done several times, the 
connection will be broken, and the body will re- 
main pliant and resting while the mind is con- 
centrated. 

"Concentration should be practiced very spar- 
ingly at first, and should never be carried to the 

41 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

point of brain fatigue. A few minutes at a time 
is enough for a beginning, the time being length- 
ened gradually as the practice goes on. But how- 
ever short the time which is given, it should be 
given regularly. Steady and regular, but not 
prolonged practice ensures the best results and 
avoids strain." (Besant.) 



42 



LESSON V 

Association — How to Remember Names, 
Faces and Errands 



43 



LESSON V 

Association — How to Remember Names, 
Faces and Errands 

The word associate comes from the Latin, 
and means to unite to. Our thoughts or ideas 
are united to one another. 

"Every thought involves a whole system of 
thoughts, and ceases to exist if severed from its 
various correlatives. As we cannot isolate a 
single organ of a living body, and deal with it as 
though it had a life independent of the rest, so, 
from the organized structure of our cognitions, 
we cannot cut out one and proceed as though it 
had survived the separation. The development 
of formless protoplasm into an embryo is a spec- 
ialization of parts, the distinctness of which in- 
creases only as fast as their combination in- 
creases; each becomes a distinguishable organ 
only on condition that it is bound up with others, 
which have simultaneously become distinguish- 
able organs; and similarly, from the unformed 
material of consciousness, a developed intelli- 
gence can arise only by a process which in making 

45 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

thoughts defined, also makes them mutually de- 
pendent — establishes among them certain vital 
connections, the destruction of which causes in- 
stant death of the thoughts." (Spencer.) 

The elementary law of association may be 
stated as follows : 

When two ideas have been present in the mind 
together or in immediate succession, one of them, 
on recurring, tends to revive the other. 

While from the standpoint of the psycholo- 
gist, association is between ideas, from a practi- 
cal standpoint it is more satisfactory to speak of 
the association of objects or of qualities. 

Association may be divided into three general 
classes : 

Association by 

( i ) Inclusion, or similarity; 

(2) Exclusion, or contrast; 

(3) Concurrence, or coexistence. 

( 1 ) Under the head of inclusion we have the 
following relations : 

(a) Whole and part (ship, rudder). 

(b) Genus and species (animal, dog). 

(c) Abstract and concrete ( cold, ice) . 

(d) Similarity of sound (bell, dell). 

(e) Any other relation in which there is 
something in common between two 
objects or qualities. 

46 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

(2) The relation of exclusion or contrast is 
one of the strongest and most powerful of all 
the association networks in consciousness. It is 
invariably present, and tends to become predom- 
inant. Things may be unlike in (a) time, (b) 
relation, (c) space relation, or in all three. 
When anything is thought of, the opposite state 
of mind is almost conscious. The idea of heat 
has no meaning from the standpoint of conscious- 
ness unless there has been something in conscious- 
ness that is not heat. The latent consciousness of 
cold is what gives the meaning to the conscious- 
ness of heat. Unless both have been experienced, 
either one means nothing. Pain cannot exist 
unless there has been pleasure: the mind could 
not be aware of one without the other. Such 
fundamental couplets as these are present in all 
consciousness, and it is only because things are 
unlike that we are conscious at all. Every 
idea in consciousness has no meaning apart from 
its exact opposite : unless both have been experi- 
enced, either one has no meaning. 

"The very conception of consciousness, in 
whatever mode it may be manifested, necessarily 
implies distinction between one object and an- 
other. To be conscious we must be conscious 
of something, and that something can only be 
known as that which it is by being distinguished 
from that which it is not . . . one object must 
possess some form of existence which the other 

47 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

has not, or it must not possess some form which 
the other has." ( Mansel. ) 

(3) The relation of concurrence is between 
things which occur together or in sequence. 
( Pipe, tobacco ; lightning, thunder. ) When one 
attribute of an object is thought of, all other 
attributes of the object tend to follow in con- 
sciousness. All of the experiences which have 
been received at the same time tend to return in 
consciousness when one of that series is brought 
to consciousness. For example, if you see a per- 
son you have not seen in years, it brings back 
memories of what happened on the day the per- 
son was seen years ago. This law is one we make 
use of in reviving the memories of a particular 
day. We also make use of it in deciding whether 
certain memories are real or invented. 

Association by concurrence also includes the 
relation of cause and effect. Certain things cause 
other things. In the ordinary course of events, 
one thing produces another : effect follows cause. 
The percepts resulting from our observation of 
nature are received in a certain definite order. 
If the relation of cause and effect is observed, 
when the cause comes to consciousness, the effect 
comes to consciousness. Or, when the relation is 
well established, if the effect is seen, the cause is 
thought of. In this connection, however, it is 
to be noted that science deals not with ultimate 
causes, but with proximate causes, based on 

48 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

sequence relation. Our system of education 
weakens the cause and effect association. The 
average adult past the age of twenty-five or 
thirty seldom thinks of cause and effect. 

The law of association can be put to practical 
use in recalling something which we have need of 
but which seems- — at least for the time being — 
to have been forgotten. When confronted by 
this situation, as soon as it is evident that you 
cannot directly recall the thing itself, turn the 
mind to what was associated with the missing 
idea at the time the original impression was 
acquired. Think of where you were at the time, 
what occurred just before or just afterward, or 
any other event or thing in any way associated 
with what you are trying to recall. 

In this connection it is interesting to note that 
sometimes when we try to recall something and 
after trying all methods, give up and turn the 
mind to other things, at a later time — it may be 
hours or even days later — the missing bit of 
knowledge comes sauntering into the mind as in- 
nocently as if it had never been wanted. 

How to Remember Names and Faces 

A good memory for names and faces is a valu- 
able asset to anyone whose business brings him 
in contact with people. The salesman with a 
poor memory for names and faces has a handi- 
cap which restricts his advancement. Every suc- 

49 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

cessful politician finds it necessary to develop 
this faculty. 

As a foundation for your memory of names 
and faces, you should value meeting people. 
Each individual you meet is a unit in the social 
organism of which you are a part, and unless 
you lived a hermit's life, without clothing, with- 
out food grown or produced by others, without 
any of the comforts or refinements of civilized 
existence, you would be unable to live without 
the help of your fellow-men. Even the humble 
truck-driver is essential, for he plays his part in 
keeping the streams of food-supplies and manu- 
factured products moving toward you, the con- 
sumer. Consider yourself potentially dependent 
on every individual you meet, and you will value 
meeting people. 

To remember faces you must observe faces, 
compare faces, study faces. When you meet a 
person for the first time, one or two glances at 
his face will not be sufficient to insure your re- 
membering him — that is, unless you have a well- 
developed talent along this line. When a young 
man meets a young woman to whom he at once 
takes a liking, or vice versa, there is no trouble 
about recognition at the second meeting of the 
two. Why ? He is interested in her, or she in him. 

Take an interest in the face of every person 
you meet; notice the nose, the eyes, the eyebrows, 
the mouth, the chin, the ears, the forehead, the 

50 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

color of the skin, and any peculiarities in the 
form of any of these features. Remember the 
principle that a clear first impression is the first 
essential of memory. 

The same holds true in regard to names. 
Those who complain that they have a poor mem- 
ory for names are those who give but little atten- 
tion to names. When introduced to a person 
they are more or less self-conscious and have 
their mind on saying "I'm pleased to meet you," 
or some similar phrase, and are listening to what 
the stranger says in return so that they do not get 
a clear first impression of the name. The way 
to overcome this difficulty is to forget yourself, 
and concentrate your attention on the stranger's 
face and name. It is much more important that 
you get a clear first impression of his name than 
to hear the words he uses in acknowledging the 
introduction. If the person making the intro- 
duction does not pronounce the name clearly, or 
it is an unusual name, ask him or the stranger to 
repeat it. It is better that the owner of the 
name should repeat it, for this will aid you in 
associating his face and his name. Then you 
should repeat the name aloud yourself — thus 
bringing your motor memory into play. 

If you meet several persons during a day or 
evening, it is an excellent plan, before going to 
bed at night, to sit down and go over each intro- 
duction, recalling the surroundings, the person 

51 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

introduced, his appearance, and his name. Write 
each name, and speak it aloud, at the same time 
trying to form a mental picture of the person. 
If you will do this faithfully, you will soon find 
your memory for names and faces greatly im- 
proved. 

Appendix A contains an article on "Some 
Common Names and Their Origins" which you 
will find helpful in developing your interest in 
names. 

Remembering Errands 

Probably everyone knows how easy it is to 
forget to mail a letter. The remedy for this is 
as follows: When starting out with the letter, 
impress on the mind that the letter is to be put in 
a street mail-box, and that the sight of a mail- 
box will recall the mailing of the letter. Then 
by developing the power of observation, you will 
not fail to see one or more mail-boxes when pass- 
ing along the street, and seeing the mail-box will 
remind you of the letter. 

If one has a number of errands to do, it is 
hardly worth while to attempt to remember them 
by sheer memory effort, for it is not a case of 
something you want to retain in the mind perma- 
nently. When the errands have been done, the 
necessity for further mental effort has passed, 
and in such a case it is much more rational to rely 
on a written memorandum. 

52 



LESSON VI 

Numbers, Dates, Prices, Etc. 



53 



LESSON VI 

Numbers, Dates, Prices, Etc. 

There are various ways of remembering num- 
bers, dates, prices, and other figures, but all are 
based on the fundamental laws of attention, in- 
terest, concentration, and association. Some 
persons have a remarkable memory for figures, 
without seeming to use any special method or 
exerting any particular effort. Most such per- 
sons are strong visualizers and remember by what 
might be called mental photography of the fig- 
ures — they form strong mental images of the 
numbers and retain them easily. To those not 
thus naturally gifted, more conscious effort is 
necessary. 

The volcano of Fujiyama, Japan, is 12,365 
feet high. By observing that the first two and 
last three figures represent respectively the num- 
ber of months and the number of days in a year, 
an association is formed, and the number is not 
forgotten. Suppose it is desired to remember 
the number 1352; note that the first two figures 
represent the number of playing cards in any 

55 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

given suit (10 spot cards plus 3 court cards), 
while the last two represent the total number of 
cards in the pack (exclusive of the joker) . Such 
coincidences, of course, are not always to be dis- 
covered, but continued practice will reveal them 
more frequently than might be supposed. 

If a reasonable amount of thought fails to re- 
veal an external association for a number, inter- 
nal relations should be sought for. Thus, Pike's 
Peak is 14,147 feet high: note the repetition of 
14 and that 7 is half of 14. The population of 
Providence (R. I.), according to the 19 10 cen- 
sus, is 224,326; 2 times 2 are 4, 3 times 2 are 6. 
Relations which you discover for yourself will 
be more easily remembered than those discov- 
ered by someone else. 

You should adopt the method of retaining 
numbers which you find easiest. If either of the 
foregoing methods seem difficult after a fair trial, 
the visualizing method may be tried. Employ- 
ing the instructions given in Lesson 4, concen- 
trate the attention on the number and form as 
clear and vivid a mental picture of it as possible. 

For historical dates, an excellent plan is al- 
ways to think of the event and the date together, 
so as to establish a firm association; thus, the 
battle of Waterloo should always be thought of 
as "Waterloo 18 15," the battle of Hastings as 
"Hastings 1066," and so on. The "Declaration 
of Independence" should never be thought of 

5* 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

without thinking also, "1776." If numbers are 
connected with events in this way, the association 
will be as easy to recall as the association between 
George and Washington, or between Abraham 
and Lincoln. 

If you have a naturally good memory for 
words, but a poor memory for figures, you can 
use to advantage the figure-alphabet, by means 
of which ordinary English words are made to 
stand for numbers. This is done by assigning a 
figure value to each consonant sound. As a num- 
ber of the consonants are similar in sound, these 
are grouped together, so that the number of dis- 
tinctly different consonant sounds is reduced to 
ten — one for each of the ten digits. The vowels 
a, e, i, o, u, the "sometimes vowels" w and y, and 
all silent letters are entirely disregarded and are 
not given figure values. 

The first step in mastering this system is to 
memorize one consonant for each figure. This 
is not difficult if the following associations are 
used: 

1 is T because T has 1 down stroke. 

2 is N because N has 2 down strokes. 

3 is M because M has 3 down strokes. 

4 is R because R is the last letter in the 

word four. 

5 is L because in Roman notation L stands 

for 50 ; disregarding the o, we have 5. 

57 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

6 is J because J is 6 reversed. 

7 is K because K follows J in the alphabet. 

8 is F because the script small letter f has 

two loops, like 8. 

9 is P because P is 9 reversed. 

is Z because Z is the first letter of the 

word zero. 

These ten substitutions can be learned in one 
sitting. Having learned them, the next step is 
to learn the additional consonants which are 
grouped with some of those already learned. 

Below is given the complete figure alphabet 
with a key sentence for use in remembering the 
several letters which represent each of several 
figures: 

1 is t, th or d. 

Tom THum Died. 

2 is n only. 

3 is m only. 

4 is r only. 

5 is 1 only. 

6 is j, sh, ch or soft g. 

Jew SHall CHoose Gentile. 

7 is k, hard c, hard g, or q. 

Kings Can Get Queens. 

58 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

8 is f or v. 

Full ^alue. 

9 is p or b. 

Playtfall! 

o is z, soft c, or s. 

Zinc Certainly Sinks. 

It is of prime importance to keep in mind the 
fact that the translation from letters to figures 
or vice versa is always made by sound. Thus 
sugar is 674, not 074; Asia is 6, not o; ratio is 
46, not 41. 

The letter h has no figure value alone. It is 
considered only in the combinations th ( 1 ) , sh 
(6), and ch (6). At all other times it is disre- 
garded and treated as a silent letter (which it 
sometimes actually is) . Ph with the sound of / 
is translated 8, in accordance with the rule that 
translation is always made by sound. The end- 
ing ing is regarded as a unit, and is always trans- 
lated 7, not 27. Thus, dancing is 1207, king is 

77. 

Double consonants are translated as if single ; 
appeal is 95 (bill is also 95) ; witness is 120; 
miller is 354. 

All words can be translated into numbers, but 
there are some numbers of 3 or more figures for 
which there are no equivalent English words. 
This apparent difficulty is easily gotten around by 

59 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 



breaking large numbers up into groups of two or 
three figures. Thus, 1574 is "dull care" ; 65004 
is "jolly Cicero"; 21868 is "native chef." 

Following is an equivalent word for each num- 
ber from 1 to 100: 



hat 

hen 

haymow 

weary 

lay 

hatch 

7 egg 

8 hive 

9 bee 

10 daisy 

11 deed 

12 twine 

13 dime 

14 waiter 

15 hotel 

16 dish 

17 dog 

18 thief 

19 depot 

20 noise 

21 night 

22 noon 

23 enemy 

24 Nero 



25 inhale 

26 enjoy 

27 yankee 

28 navy 

29 nap 

30 mouse 

31 meadow 

32 mine 

33 mummy 

34 hammer 

35 mail 

36 image 

37 hammock 

38 muff 

39 map 

40 rose 

41 road 

42 rain 

43 room 

44 rear 

45 rule 

46 arch 

47 rug 

48 reef 



49 robe 

50 lace 

51 lady 

52 lion 

53 lamb 

54 lawyer 

55 % 
$6 lodge 

57 lake 

58 olive 

59 HP 

60 chess 

61 shed 

62 chain 

63 gem 

64 chair 

65 jelly 

66 judge 

67 joke 

68 chief 

69 ship 

70 case 

71 coat 

72 queen 



60 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 



73 game 


83 foam 


93 beam 


74 car 


84 fire 


94 bar 


75 eagle 


85 flee 


95 bill 


76 cage 


86 fish 


96 page 


77 keg 


87 fog 


97 book 


78 cave 


-88 fife 


98 puff 


79 cowboy 


89 fob 


99 Pipe 


80 face 


90 base 


100 disease 


81 fit 


91 boat 




82 fan 


92 pen 





To find a word or words which will translate 
any given number, set down the figures with 
some space between, and under each one the 
consonants which represent it, thus : 

51470 
L T R K Z 

D hardC soft C 

TH hard G S 

Q 

Having the consonants in place, vowels to 
form words are easily filled in. In the above ex- 
ample, several words can be made: LOAD 
ROCKS is one possibility. 

Whenever possible, words should be found 
which can be associated in some way with the 
fact with which the number is connected. 

Another plan of translation is to make up a 
sentence of as many words as there are figures, 

61 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

and assign a figure value only to the first con- 
sonant sound in each word. The Mississippi 
River is 4382 miles long: iRiver Mississippi ^ery 
Wawdering. 

On first reading, some may think that the 
figure alphabet is a remedy worse than the dis- 
ease ; but if your word-memory is good, and your 
figure-memory poor, it will pay you to spend the 
time necessary to master it. Careful study and 
frequent practise with the method will make you 
so familiar with it that its use will be easy. 



€2 



LESSON VII 

Verbatim Memorization of Poetry and 

Prose, Remembering Contents of 

Books and Articles 



63 



LESSON VII 

Verbatim Memorization of Poetry and 

Prose, Remembering Contents of 

Books and Articles 

The method of memorizing poetry and prose 
which is about to be described is such a radical 
departure from the time-honored methods that 
many on first making its acquaintance are in- 
clined to be skeptical. Actual experience with the 
method, however, usually converts such persons 
into enthusiastic advocates. 

The method is so simple that it can be stated 
in a very brief space. It consists in reading aloud 
the entire poem or selection, starting at the be- 
ginning and reading through to the end, keeping 
the attention on the subject-matter, and fully 
understanding the meaning of each word and 
sentence. Having completed one reading aloud, 
start at the beginning and read aloud to the end 
again. Repeat again, reading aloud as before, 
making three times in all. Read the poem or 
selection aloud three times, twice a day at inter- 
vals of at least six hours. A convenient way is 

65 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

to do it the first thing in the morning and again 
at night. In a few days you will find that you 
can begin to repeat parts of the selection without 
looking at it. Encourage yourself in doing this, 
but not until you are sure of saying it right while 
not looking. In from ten to twenty days you will 
know the selection perfectly, and will be able to 
repeat it without hesitancy. Furthermore, after 
the occasion for its use is past, it will not be for- 
gotten in a few weeks, as is the case with matter 
learned in the old way. With an occasional 
repetition, you can retain it for years. The au- 
thor of these lessons can still repeat passages 
from Shakespeare learned by this method more 
than ten years ago. 

To insure success, it is only necessary to ob- 
serve the following three simple rules : 

( i ) Always read aloud. 

(2) Read through from beginning to end 
each time. It matters not whether the selection 
is one you can read (aloud) in three minutes, or 
whether it takes an hour; the rule is to be fol- 
lowed just the same. 

(3) Don't let the mind wander. Keep it on 
the subject-matter of the selection. 

The time required for learning varies with the 
individual, with the degree of concentration, and 
with the nature of the selection. Rhythmic 
poetry is more quickly learned than prose. If 

66 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

it is necessary to learn something within a week, 
this can be done if the selection is short, by read- 
ing aloud four times at each sitting instead of 
three, and doing it three times a day instead of 
twice. 

In Appendix B will be found a number of 
carefully chosen selections for practice in ver- 
batim memorizing. 

Remembering Contents of Books and 
Articles 

If you are to remember what you read, the 
fundamental principles of attention, interest, con- 
centration, and association must be brought into 
play. If you want to master the contents of a 
book or magazine article with accuracy, it is 
best to make a written abstract (or concise sum- 
mary) of it. A chapter can usually be summed 
up in a paragraph; a paragraph (of the book) 
in a sentence. Read over your abstract carefully 
from time to time so that the knowledge will 
become a part of your mental organization. 

Appendix C gives further details of the mak- 
ing of abstracts, together with an example. 

Conclusion 

Memory being a function of the mind, a sound 
memory goes with a sound mind and a sound 
body. The habitual use of alcohol or drugs is 

67 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

incompatible with a dependable memory. Good 
memory work cannot be done when there is great 
mental or bodily fatigue, and it should not be 
attempted at such times. 

"The secret of a good memory is the secret of 
forming diverse and multiple associations with 
every fact we care to retain. . . . What is 
this but thinking about the fact as much as possi- 
ble? The man who thinks over his experiences 
most and weaves them into the most systematic 
relations with each other will be the one with the 
best memory. 

"The art of remembering is the art of think- 
ing. Our conscious effort to remember a fact 
should not be directed at impressing and retain- 
ing it, but at connecting it with something al- 
ready known. The connecting is the thinking, 
and if we attend clearly to the connection, the 
connected thing will certainly be likely to remain 
within call." (William James.) 

These lessons contain no magic power. One 
reading of them will not give you a perfect mem- 
ory. They show you how you can improve your 
memory provided you put the principles into 
practice : do this, and as surely as effect follows 
cause, your memory will be improved. 



68 



LESSON VIII 
How to Study Effectively 



69 



LESSON VIII 
How to Study Effectively 

In order to study or do any other form of men- 
tal work effectively, you must be in good physical 
condition. It is true that the mind has a certain 
influence over the body, but in accordance with 
the law of action and reaction, it is equally true 
that the body has an influence on the mind. 

Look first, therefore, to your health. If you 
have physical defects such as decaying teeth, de- 
fective eyesight, obstructed nasal breathing or 
any other trouble which interferes with clear 
mental action, have it attended to by a competent 
physician. Adopt rational and normal ways of 
eating, sleeping, working, playing and resting. 
In seeking guidance on these things, beware of 
the diet cranks, food faddists and extremists of 
all kinds. Their number is legion. Pin your 
faith to those who are accepted as leaders by the 
majority of rational men; whose teachings are 
based on real science and not on pseudo-science. 
"How to Live," by Fisher and Fisk, and "Per- 
sonal Hygiene," by Pyle, are two books either of 

71 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

which is a safe guide to the hygiene of mind and 
body. 

The whole man, however, is more than mind 
and body. He is also spirit, and spirit must not 
be ignored. If you have been ignoring spirit, 
you should by all means read "In Tune with the 
Infinite," by Trine, and u The Life of Reality," 
by Randall. 

In order to study effectively, you should pro- 
vide certain external conditions which are favor- 
able to this work. For the average individual, a 
quiet place is essential. While it is possible to 
study in the midst of noise, better work can usu- 
ally be done in a quiet place. The temperature 
of the air should be between 68° and 70 F., 
for scientific investigation has shown that the 
human body functions best in this temperature. 
The humidity, or amount of moisture in the air 
should be high enough so that the mucous mem- 
brances of the mouth and throat do not become 
dry, but not so high that the invisible moisture 
which is constantly being thrown off by the skin 
cannot evaporate. You should have good light, 
coming preferably from the left side, so that if 
writing is done, the shadow of the hand will not 
fall on the work. Daylight is best, but when 
artificial light must be used, it should be strong 
enough so that the work can be seen clearly when 
held at about the same distance from the eyes 
that you hold it when reading by daylight, yet 

72 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

not strong enough to make the page so bright 
that you have a tendency to scowl or squint. 
Have a comfortable chair, and a desk or table 
of suitable height. On the latter or in a conve- 
nient drawer keep the materials you use in study 
— pencil, paper, ruler, ink, and whatever else 
you may need for the particular kind of study 
you do. 

When you begin a period of study, take on 
the attitude of attention, and concentrate your 
mind on the work in hand. In a previous les- 
son we have seen the importance of attention and 
concentration. Not only are they essential to 
good memory, but by keeping your mind concen- 
trated on your work, you can accomplish much 
more in a given period of time, and do it with 
less fatigue. 

Study with the intent to learn and to remem- 
ber permanently. It has been found that the 
intent which accompanies the learning process 
affects the length of time of retention. It is well 
known that material crammed before an exam- 
ination is forgotten soon afterward. There are 
two reasons for this: first, the facts are taken 
into the mind accompanied by the feeling that if 
they are retained until the examination is over, 
that is sufficient ; and second, permanent memory 
depends on the laws of association, and when 
facts are crammed rapidly, there is not sufficient 
time to form associations. 

73 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

Don't study under the delusion that you are 
doing it for the teacher. You are doing it for 
your own advancement. Have a motive, or sev- 
eral motives. These may be a recognition of the 
future value of the subject, a desire to excell or 
to win approval ; it may even be a desire to get 
your money's worth out of what you are paying 
for. The stronger the incentive, the better work 
you will do. 

Before beginning to study advance work, re- 
view the previous lesson. When studying new 
material, put the most time and thought on the 
points you find hardest to grasp. All mental 
impressions fade with time : in view of this fact, 
the learning of important parts of your lessons 
must be carried beyond the point necessary for 
immediate recall. If you have difficulty in ac- 
curately recalling a fact or a group of facts im- 
mediately after you have been studying them, 
you may be sure that you have not learned them 
well enough to recall them at some time in the 
future. Things that are important and that you 
want to be sure of retaining for future use you 
should learn so well that on trying to recall them 
immediately afterward you can do so easily, ac- 
curately, and without hesitancy. 

Keeping in mind the principle that newly 
learned facts are retained best when no new men- 
tal activity follows the period of acquisition, 
take periods of rest at intervals, especially after 

74 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

learning something the future value of which you 
recognize. 

Think over your study work. Talk about it. 
If you think you might bore your friends or 
members of your family by telling what you 
learn to them, tell it to an imaginary listener, in 
the quiet of your room with the door closed. 
Draw pictures or diagrams of anything that can 
be thus represented. Work out for yourself 
specific examples of all general rules and princi- 
ples. When the subject-matter of your study is 
complex, make a written outline of it. Learn 
definitions thoroughly, and be sure that you 
understand them. Avoid an attitude of mere 
acquisition : think of your brain not as a recepta- 
cle into which something is poured, but as an in- 
terlacing of multitudinous fibers, with infinite 
possibilities of interconnection which no one ever 
exhausts. Seek other relations between facts than 
those given in the books you study. 

The runner, nearing the point at which it 
seems that he can run no longer, gets a "second 
wind," and is able to finish the race. Similarly 
the brain worker, if mental application be pushed 
past the first feeling of fatigue, gets a mental 
second wind : he taps new levels of energy which 
enable him to continue study with renewed vigor. 
This does not mean that rest is never needed, 
but it does mean that one need not stop work at 
the first feeling of fatigue. 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

Finally, and perhaps most important of all, 
make practical application of your knowledge 
as soon as possible, and as often as possible. 
Using or expressing knowledge fixes it in the 
mind and gives a feeling of mastery which con- 
tributes to the self-confidence that plays such a 
large part in success. 



/6 



APPENDIX 



77 



APPENDIX A 

SOME COMMON NAMES AND THEIR 
ORIGINS 

By Judson Stewart 

(From The Dearborn Independent.) 

When the world was very much younger than 
it is now, two names were not needed because 
there were not many people ; they lived far apart 
in different tribes and clans and did not get mis- 
taken for one another. Consequently one name 
was sufficient. The first names were descriptive 
of the man, such as "One-Eye," or "Crooked- 
Leg," or "Strong-Arm. " But of course when 
such a man died his name could not be passed 
on because his son would not be like him, 
that is, "Crooked-Leg's" son would doubtless 
have straight legs, so the name would not fit him. 

When family names were used, not descrip- 
tive of any one man, but handed down from 
father to son, and the population increased, there 
might be two or three Johns in one clan and peo- 
ple would not know which one was meant when 
the name "John" was used. Then "given 
names" were necessary, a given name being one 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

that is given to the child after birth, while the 
father's name became his by right of birth. 

The "surname" may have come from the 
French who in the olden days used to write a 
man's name like this : 

Jones 
John 

The family name, written on top or over was 
called the "surnom" meaning the "over name." 
Yet it is quite as likely that we got the word "sur- 
name" from "sirname," or "sirename," mean- 
ing sire's or father's name. 

A man named "Robin' would be given, or 
would take for himself, the name of John. John 
Robin would have a son. But in those days 
people were not given "given" names by their 
parents, and had none for years until they grew 
up and selected one for themselves. Conse- 
quently, when Robin's little boy became old 
enough to be mentioned, people came to speak 
of him as "Robin's son." Finally he would be- 
come known as "Robinson" and that name would 
stick to him. In this way two family names were 
created. 

If we were to trace back every name ending 
with "son" we would find that it happened in 
just this way. And it was not always derived 
from the surname. A man named Benjamin 
Smith would be known by his friends as "Ben" 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

and his little boy would be called "Ben's son," 
and later "Benson." The Johnsons, Jacobsons, 
Thompsons, Petersons, Jamesons, Lawrensons, 
Donaldsons, and many other names like these all 
originated as I have described. 

The word "son," whether in English or some 
other language, had much to do with the origin 
of our names. In the ancient Gaelic language the 
word "mac" meant "son." The Irish for the 
most part abbreviated this to just an "mc," but 
the Scotch kept the "mac." Thus a man named 
Arthur would have a son (in his language a 
"mac") and this boy would be known as "mac 
Arthur," or Arthur's son, and so he became 
known as "Mac Arthur." Thus we got the 
scores and scores of names like "McMichael," 
"McDonald," "McKinney," "MacAllister." 
Originally there were no such family names as 
Robinson or McMichael, but they came from 
Robin and Michael. You see that while the Eng- 
lish would put the word "son" after the name, 
the Scotch, Irish, and some others put it before 
the name. Their word for son was "fitz," and it 
probably came from the French "fils," meaning 
son. And so a man named Hugh would have a 
son who would be spoken of as "fitz Hugh," 
until he finally became "Fitz-Hugh." Thus we 
got the Fitzgeralds, Fitzpatricks, Fitzsimmons, 
son of Simon, and so many other "Fitzes." 

With the Welsh the word "ap" means son. 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

Richard's boy would be mentioned as "ap Rich- 
ard," but the people shortened their pronuncia- 
tion just as we do, though we should not. Rich- 
ard's boy was spoken of as "ap Richard," then as 
u A-prichard," and finally as "Pritchard." Thus 
Hugh's son became "Pugh," and Howell's boy, 
"Powell." 

Welsh names are very largely from given 
names; Jones, Williams, Hughes, and Davids 
being prominent examples. 

Another lazy method of shortening words and 
sentences led to still a new lot of family names. 
Harry had a son. Instead of saying "Harry's 
son," they spoke of him merely as "Harry's," 
and thus we get the name "Harris." Of course 
we also get Harrison from the father, Harry. 
Phillip, Owen, Reynold, Matthew, Jenks, and 
so on, had sons whose names became Phillips, 
Owens, Reynolds, Matthews and Jenkins. 

A man named Janson settled in a place where 
the people could not well pronounce the "J," 
but called him "Hanson," hence that name. 
John was the most common given name. Jones 
became the most common surname. This was 
natural because John's son was called John's, 
and from this the word drifted into "Jones." 
From the good old name "William," through 
mentioning the many sons of the many Williams, 
we get Wilson, Wills, Willis, Wilkes, Willard, 
Billings, etc. 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

Much more interesting is the way that so 
many family names came from the trades and 
occupations of these men, and also from the local- 
ities in which they lived. We all know that a 
"smith" is a man who works in metals. He may 
be a silver or goldsmith, or work in iron, 
which is black, and thus become a blacksmith. 
And he would be mentioned as "the smith," and 
later as "Smith." John the smith became John 
Smith, and Peter the carpenter became Peter 
Carpenter, while John the miller became John 
Miller. 

Chandler is a well-known name. The orig- 
inal Chandler was a candle-maker, called the 
chandler, and thus the family of Chandler 
started. The man who thatched roofs became 
Thatcher. The man who sold cloth (they still 
call a dry-goods dealer a "draper" in England) 
became Draper. A man who made arrows was 
a fletcher, hence the Fletchers. From this you 
can easily understand where the well-known fam- 
ily names of Slater, Carter, Saddler, Mason, 
Shoemaker, Hooper (also "Cooper," barrel 
maker), Cheesman, Skinner, Coleman, Miner, 
Weaver, Cook, Gardner, Archer, Glover, Shep- 
herd, Taylor, and hundreds and hundreds of sim- 
ilar ones equally well known, originally came 
from. 

In the great castles and on the huge estates of 
feudal times were many men employed in vari- 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

ous occupations, who were known to their lords 
and to each other mainly by the names of the 
offices that they filled. Thus, Walter the stew- 
ard became "Walter Stuart" — founder of the 
royal house of Scotland and later of England. 
Shakespeare's Justice Shallow refers to his ser- 
vant as "William Cook," meaning "William the 
cook." "Butler" has a similar origin. 

The man who had charge of his hay to make 
sure horses and cattle were fed was in reality 
the warden of the hay and was called Hayward. 
Woodward had charge of hewing the wood for 
building and for fires. Baxter was the baker, 
Waters looked after the wells, Fowler and For- 
rester guarded game and forest, Armour kept 
the armor bright. 

Names that originated from the locality in 
which the man lived are common, but many are 
so changed that we do not recognize them be- 
cause the old-time terms for ditches and woods 
and many such localities are not much used to- 
day. 

Once a man lived in Holland in a great field 
of roses and they called him "Rosevelt," or rose- 
field. The man who lived with his family in a 
hut away out of the old-time beaten paths near a 
deep forest, or woods, became "Wood," or 
"Woods." If you will give thought to the fol- 
lowing names you will understand where the first 
men who were given them lived: Field, Marsh, 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

Moore, Lane, Stone, Church, Bush, Wall, Tree, 
Roads, or Rhodes, Banks, Lake, Pond, and 
many others. 

The word "under" helped greatly in originat- 
ing family names. Perhaps one man lived on top 
of a hill and was called "Hill," but a neighbor 
lived at the foot of the hill or "under the hill," 
as the expression was used. He became "Under- 
bill." And so we have "Underwood" and others. 
John, who had no other name, lived by a chain 
of lakes. Some other man there was already 
called "Lake," and still another man was called 
"Waters," so the third man had to be called 
something else and they made it "Atwater." 

Countries and nationalities gave us names, 
such as English, Irish, French, Welsh, Dane and 
Dana, Burgoyne from Burgundy, Cornwallis 
from Cornwall. 

At some localities where there were pools of 
pure water the women would bring the clothes 
to be washed. This place became known as the 
place where washing was done, or "Washington," 
and one man who lived there was called "Wash- 
ington." England's towns and parishes and 
other localities give us York, Kent, Lincoln (an- 
other of our presidents), Carlisle, Bancroft. 

Now for some of the names that we do not 
understand quite as well, such as Worth, a fort ; 
Weller, a gulf; Thorpe, a village; Ross, a mo- 
rass; Pollard, a closely trimmed tree (you see 

ss 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

some man lived close to such a tree and got his 
name in that way) . Peel means a pond, and 
Penn (our famous William Penn) means the top 
of a hill. We know what "lea" means, and 
from it came "Lee." Holt is a small forest and 
a small valley is a Hope. Holmes, a flat island; 
Hyde, a land measurement, being as much as one 
man could plow in a day. A Hatch is a flood- 
gate, Foss a ditch, Hurst a wood; and a holy 
well, of which there used to be many, gave us 
the name of Hallowell. Foote, bottom of a hill, 
Fleet, a brooklet, Beck, another name for a tiny 
stream. Once barbers were called "cobs," and 
hence the name "Cobb." 

A town built in a place where there is much 
clay was called clay town and men who lived 
there were clay town men, and from that to Clay- 
ton. Or it may be new town (Newton) . 

We have Fish, Fisher, Crabbe, Harte (a 
deer), Fox, Bull, Lamb, Hogg, Lyon (lion), 
Crane, Drake, Finch, Corbet (a raven), Bird, 
Dove, Nightingale, Wren (remember Sir Chris- 
topher Wren), Swan, and an endless list of such 
names. Sometimes a man would have a public 
house or inn and for a sign he would put up a 
picture of a young horse. He would be known 
as John of the Colt Tavern, or John of the Colt, 
and finally John Colt. 

A man who sold perch that he caught from 
his pond might get the name of Perch, and there 

8« 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

are Pikes, Herrings, Haddocks, Chubbs, Bass, 
and many other fish. 

It is easy to understand the origin of such 
names as Root, Weed, Flower, Bush, Plant, and 
of men who sold or made or mended Coats, 
Jewels, Pipes (Piper), Bell, Mantell, Porch, 
Post. 

Some of the oldest of names go back to those 
I first mentioned, describing the man or some 
peculiarity about him or some distinguishing 
mark, as Black, Brown, Green, Gray, White, 
Blue. Osgood means well built and Osborn 
means athletic. There's Longman, and we know 
the first Longman was by no means short. 
Crookshanks (history mentions one of this name 
among royalty — we call it "Cruikshanks" now) ; 
Whistler and Singer and Armstrong we under- 
stand easily, as well as Weeks, Strong, Small, 
Eatwell, Noble, Hardy, Goodman, Darling, 
Savage, Sweet, Wise, and Moody. 



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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 



APPENDIX B 

SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE IN 
VERBATIM MEMORIZING 

RECITATION 
Channing 

Is there not an amusement, having an affinity 
with the drama, which might be usefully intro- 
duced among us ? I mean, Recitation. A work 
of genius, recited by a man of fine taste, enthusi- 
asm, and powers of elocution, is a very pure and 
high gratification. Were this art cultivated and 
encouraged, great numbers, now insensible to 
the most beautiful compositions, might be waked 
up to their excellence and power. 

It is not easy to conceive of a more effectual 
way of spreading a refined taste through a com- 
munity. The drama undoubtedly appeals more 
strongly to the passions than recitation; but the 
latter brings out the meaning of the author more. 
Shakespeare, worthily recited, would be better 
understood than on the stage. 

Recitation, sufficiently varied, so as to include 
pieces of chaste wit, as well as of pathos, beauty, 
and sublimity, is adapted to our present intellec- 
tual progress. 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 



HAMLET'S INSTRUCTIONS TO THE 
PLAYERS 

Hamlet, Act III, Scene 2 

(This selection contains Shakespeare's statement of the 
principles of dramatic recitation.) 

Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced 
it to you, trippingly on the tongue: but if you 
mouth it, as many of your players do, I had as 
lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not 
saw the air too much with your hand, thus ; but 
use all gently: for in the very torrent, tempest, 
and, as I may say, whirlwind of your passion, 
you must acquire and beget a temperance that 
may give it smoothness. O, it offends me to the 
soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow 
tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split 
the ears of the groundlings, .who for the most 
part, are capable of nothing but inexplicable 
dumb-shows and noise : I would have such a fel- 
low whipped for o'erdoing Termangant; it out- 
herods Herod : pray you, avoid it. 

Be not too tame neither, but let your own dis- 
cretion be your tutor : suit the action to the word, 
the word to the action; with this special observ- 
ance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of na- 
ture : for anything so overdone is from the pur- 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

pose of playing, whose end, both at the first and 
now, was and is, to hold, as 'twere, the mirror 
up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, 
scorn her own image, and the very age and body 
of the time his form and pressure. Now this 
overdone or come tardy off, though it make the 
unskillful laugh, cannot but make the judici- 
ous grieve; the censure of which one must in 
your allowance o'erweigh a whole theater of 
others. O, there be players that I have seen 
play, and heard others praise, and that highly, 
not to speak it profanely, that neither having 
the accent of Christians nor the gait of Christian, 
pagan, nor man, have so strutted and bellowed, 
that I have thought some of nature's journeymen 
had made men, and not made them well, they 
imitated humanity so abominably. 



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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 



THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS 
Abraham Lincoln 

(The address delivered at the dedication of the Gettysburg 
National Cemetery, November 19, 1863.) 

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers 
brought forth upon this continent a new nation, 
conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the prop- 
osition that all men are created equal. 

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, 
testing whether that nation, or any nation so con- 
ceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We 
are met on a great battle-field of that war. We 
have come to dedicate a portion of that field as 
a final resting-place for those who here gave 
their lives that that nation might live. It is al- 
together fitting and proper that we should do 
this. 

But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate — we 
cannot consecrate — we cannot hallow — this 
ground. The brave men, living and dead, who 
struggled here, have consecrated it, far above 
our power to add or detract. The world will 
little note nor long remember what we say here, 
but it can never forget what they did here. It 
is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

to the unfinished work which they who fought 
here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is 
rather for us to be here dedicated to the great 
task remaining before us : that from these hon- 
ored dead we take increased devotion to that 
cause for which they gave the last full measure 
of devotion; that we here highly resolve that 
these dead shall not have died in vain; that this 
nation, under God, shall have a new birth of 
freedom; and that government of the people, 
by the people, for the people, shall not perish 
from the earth. 



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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 



THE FLAG SPEAKS 

(An excerpt from a speech made on Flag Day, 1914, by 
Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior.) 

"I am not the flag; not at all. I am but its 
shadow. 

"I am whatever you make me, nothing more. 

"I am your belief in yourself, your dream of 
what a People may become. 

"I live a changing life, a life of moods and 
passions, of heartbreaks and tired muscles. 

"Sometimes I am strong with pride, when men 
do an honest work, fitting the rails together 
truly. 

"Sometimes I droop, for then purpose has 
gone from me, and cynically I play the coward. 

"Sometimes I am loud, garish, and full of that 
ego that blasts judgment. 

"But always, I am all that you hope to be, and 
have the courage to try for. 

"I am song and fear, struggle and panic, and 
ennobling hope. 

"I am the day's work of the weakest man, 
and the largest dream of the most daring. 

"I am the Constitution and the courts, statutes 
and the statute makers, soldier and dreadnaught, 
drayman and street sweep, cook, counselor, and 
clerk. 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

"I am the battle of yesterday, and the mis- 
take of tomorrow. 

"I am the mystery of the men who do with- 
out knowing why. 

"I am the clutch of an idea, and the reasoned 
purpose of resolution. 

"I am no more than what you believe me to 
be and I am all that you believe I can be. 

"I am what you make me, nothing more. 

"I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of 
color, a symbol of yourself, the pictured sugges- 
tion of that big thing which makes this nation. 
My stars and my stripes are your dream and 
your labors. They are bright with cheer, bril- 
liant with courage, firm with faith, because you 
have made them so out of your hearts. For you 
are the makers of the flag, and it is well that you 
glory in the making." 



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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 



BELIEVE ME, IF ALL THOSE ENDEAR- 
ING YOUNG CHARMS 

Thomas Moore 

Believe me, if all those endearing young charms 

Which I gaze on so fondly today, 
Were to change by tomorrow, and fleet in my 
arms, 

Like fairy-gifts fading away, 
Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment 
thou art, 

Let thy loveliness fade as it will ; 
And 'round the dear ruin each wish of my heart 

Will entwine itself verdantly still. 

It is not while beauty and youth are thine own, 

And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear, 
That the fervor and faith of a soul can be 
known, 

To which time will but make thee more dear : 
No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets, 

But as truly loves on to the close 
As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets, 

The same look which she turned when he rose. 



95 



FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 



THE USUAL WAY 

Anonymous 

There was once a little man, and his rod and 

line he took, 
For he said, "I'll go a-fishing in the neighboring 

brook." 
And it chanced a little maiden was walking out 

that day, 

And they met — in the usual way. 

Then he sat down beside her, and an hour or two 
went by, 

But still upon the grassy brink his rod and line 
did lie; 

"I thought," she shyly whispered, "you'd be fish- 
ing all the day." 

And he was — in the usual way. 

So he gravely took his rod in hand and threw the 
line about, 

But the fish perceived distinctly, he was not look- 
ing out; 

And he said, "Sweetheart, I love you," but she 
said she could not stay, 

But she did — in the usual way. 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

Then the stars came out above them, and she 
gave a little sigh, 

As they watched the silver ripples, like the mo- 
ments, running by; 

"We must say good-by," she whispered, by the 
alders old and gray, 

And they did — in the usual way. 

And day by day beside the stream, they wandered 

to and fro, 
And day by day the fishes swam securely down 

below, 
Till this little story ended, as such little stories 

may 

Very much — in the usual way. 

And now that they are married, do they always 

bill and coo? 
Do they never fret or quarrel, like other couples 

do? 
Does he cherish her and love her? Does she 

honor and obey? 

Well, they do — in the usual way. 



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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

LASCA 

F. Desprez 

I want free life and I want fresh air ; 
And I long for the canter after the cattle, 
The crack of the whips like shots in battle, 
The green beneath and the blue above, 
And dash and danger and life and love. 
And Lasca ! Lasca used to ride 
On a mouse-gray mustang, close to my side, 
To ride with me, and ever to ride, 

In Texas, down by the Rio Grande. 
But once, when I made her jealous for fun, 
At something I'd whispered, or looked, or done, 
She drew from her garter a dear little dagger, 
And — sting of a wasp ! — it made me stagger ! 
Oh, well, scratches don't count, 

In Texas, down by the Rio Grande. 

The air was heavy and the night was hot, 

I sat by her side, and forgot — forgot ; 

Forgot the herd that were taking their rest ; 

Forgot that the air was close opprest, 

That the Texas Norther comes sudden and soon, 

In the dead of night or the blaze of noon; 

That once let the herd at its breath take fright, 

There's nothing on earth can stop the flight; 

Was that thunder? 

I sprung to my saddle without a word, 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

One foot on mine, and she clung behind. 
Away! on a hot chase down the wind! 
For we rode for our lives — 

In Texas, down by the Rio Grande. 

There is one chance left, and you have but one — 
Halt, jump to ground, and shoot your horse ; 
Crouch under his carcass, and take your chance ; 
And if the steers, in their frantic course, 
Don't batter you both to pieces at once, 
You may thank your star; if not, good-by 
To the quickening kiss and the long-drawn sigh, 
And the open air and the open sky, 

In Texas, down by the Rio Grande. 

The cattle gained on us just as I felt 

For my old six-shooter, behind in my belt; 

Down came the mustang, and down came we, 

Clinging together, and — what was the rest? 

A body that spread itself on my breast, 

Two lips that on my lips were prest; 

And then came thunder in my ears 

As over us surged that sea of steers, 

And when I could rise 

Lasca was dead! 

I gouged out a grave a few feet deep, 

And there in earth's arms I laid her to sleep ; 

And I wonder why I do not care 

For the things that are like the things that were. 

Does half my heart lie buried there 

In Texas, down by the Rio Grander 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

THE SUPREMACY OF LOVE 
I. Corinthians 13. 

If I speak with the tongues of men and of 
angels, but have not love, I am become sounding 
brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the 
gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all 
knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to re- 
move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 
And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, 
and if I give my body to be burned, but have 
not love, it profiteth me nothing. 

Love suffereth long and is kind; love envieth 
not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 
doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its 
own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; 
rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth 
with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all 
things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

Love never faileth: but whether there be 
prophecies, they shall be done away; whether 
there be tongues, they shall cease ; whether there 
be knowledge, it shall be done away. For we 
know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when 
that which is perfect is come, that which is in 
part shall be done away. When I was a child, 
I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

a child: now that I am become a man, I have 
put away childish things. For now we see in a 
mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I 
know in part ; but then shall I know fully even as 
also I was fully known. But now abideth faith, 
hope, love, these three ; and the greatest of these 
is love. 



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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

APPENDIX C 
HOW TO MAKE ABSTRACTS 

As an illustration of how abstracts may be 
made, we take the following selection from Her- 
bert Spencer's "First Principles :" 

[i] "We too often forget that not only is 
there 'a soul of goodness in things evil,' but very 
generally also a soul of truth in things erroneous. 
While many admit the abstract probability that 
a falsity has usually a nucleus of reality, few 
bear this abstract probability in mind, when pass- 
ing judgment on the opinions of others. A belief 
that is finally proved to be grossly at variance 
with fact is cast aside with indignation or con- 
tempt; and in the heat of antagonism scarcely 
any one inquires what there was in this belief 
which commended it to men's minds. Yet there 
must have been something. And there is reason 
to suspect that this something was its correspond- 
ence with certain of their experiences; an ex- 
tremely limited or vague correspondence, per- 
haps, but still a correspondence. Even the ab- 
surdest report may in nearly every instance be 
traced to an actual occurrence ; and had there been 
no such actual occurrence, this preposterous mis- 
representation of it would never have existed. 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

Though the distorted or magnified image trans- 
mitted to us through the refracting medium of 
rumor, is utterly unlike the reality; yet in the 
absence of the reality there would have been no 
distorted or magnified image. And thus it is 
with human beliefs in general. Entirely wrong 
as they may appear the implication is that they 
germinated out of actual experiences — originally 
contained, and perhaps still contain, some small 
amount of verity. 

[2] "More especially may we safely assume 
this, in the case of beliefs that have long existed 
and are widely diffused. And most of all so in 
the case of beliefs that are perennial and nearly 
or quite universal. The presumption that any 
current opinion is not wholly false gains in 
strength according to the number of its adher- 
ents. Admitting, as we must, that life is impos- 
sible unless through a certain agreement between 
internal convictions and external circumstances; 
admitting therefore that the probabilities are 
always in favor of the truth, or at least the par- 
tial truth, of a conviction; we must admit that 
the convictions entertained by many minds in 
common are the most likely to have some foun- 
dation. The elimination of individual errors of 
thought, must give to the resulting judgment a 
certain additional value. It may indeed be 
urged that many widely spread beliefs are re- 
ceived on authority ; that those entertaining them 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

make no attempts at verification; and hence it 
may be inferred that the multitude of adherents 
adds but little to the probability of a belief. But 
this is not true. For a belief which gains exten- 
sive reception without critical examination, is 
thereby proved to have a general congruity with 
the various other beliefs of those who receive it : 
and in so far as these various other beliefs are 
based upon personal observation and judgment, 
they give an indirect warrant to one with which 
they harmonize. It may be that this warrant is 
of small value ; but still it is of some value. 

[3] "Could we reach definite views on this 
matter, they would be extremely useful to us. It 
is important that we should, if possible, form 
something like a general theory of current opin- 
ions; so that we may neither over-estimate nor 
under-estimate their worth. Arriving at correct 
judgments on disputed questions, much depends 
on the attitude of mind we preserve while listen- 
ing to, or taking part in, the controversy; and 
for the preservation of a right attitude, it is need- 
ful that we should learn how true, and yet how 
untrue, are average human beliefs. On the one 
hand, we must keep free from that bias in favor 
of received ideas which expresses itself in such 
dogmas as 'What every one says must be true,' 
or 'The voice of the people is the voice of God.' 
On the other hand, the fact disclosed by a survey 
of the past, that majorities have usually been 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

wrong, must not blind us to the complementary 
fact, that majorities have usually not been en- 
tirely wrong. 

[4] "A candid acceptance of this general 
principal [that there is a soul of truth in things 
erroneous], and an adoption of the course it in- 
dicates, will greatly aid us in dealing with those 
chronic antagonisms by which men are divided. 
Applying it not only to current ideas with which 
we are personally unconcerned, but also to our 
own ideas and those of our opponents, we shall 
be led to form far more correct judgment. We 
shall be ever ready to suspect that the convictions 
we entertain are not wholly right, and that the 
adverse convictions are not wholly wrong. On 
the one hand, we shall not, in common with the 
great mass of the unthinking, let our beliefs be 
determined by the mere accident of birth in a 
particular age on a particular part of the Earth's 
surface; and, on the other hand, we shall be 
saved from that error of entire and contemptu- 
ous negation which is fallen into by most who 
take up an attitude of independent criticism. 

[5] "Happily, the times display an increas- 
ing catholicity of feeling, which we shall do well 
in carrying as far as our natures permit. In pro- 
portion as we love truth more and victory less, 
we shall become anxious to know what it is 
which leads our opponents to think as they do. 
We shall begin to suspect that the pertinacity of 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

belief exhibited by them must result from a per- 
ception of something we have not perceived. 
And we shall aim to supplement the portion of 
truth we have found with the portion found by 
them. Making a more rational estimate of hu- 
man authority, we shall avoid alike the extremes 
of undue submission and undue rebellion — shall 
not regard some men's judgment as wholly good 
and others as wholly bad; but shall rather lean 
to the more defensible position that none are 
completely right and none are completely 
wrong." 

In this selection from Herbert Spencer, as 
generally in the work of the best writers, each 
paragraph contains a central thought which the 
writer expresses in a sentence known as the topic 
sentence. Usually this sentence stands at the 
beginning of the paragraph; less frequently it is 
at the end, and more rarely, in the middle. 

In making an abstract, then, we must look for 
the central thought in each paragraph. Having 
determined this, we can either write it down as it 
stands in the topic sentence, or we can state it in 
our own words. Both plans are good. The one 
to be used in any particular case will depend on 
the nature of the work and the uses to be made 
of the abstract. 

The following is an abstract of the five para- 
graphs quoted : 

[i] We too often forget that not only is 

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FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 

there "a soul of goodness in things evil," but 
erroneous. 

[2] The convictions entertained by many 
minds in common are the most likely to have 
some foundation. 

[3] The fact disclosed by a survey of the 
past, that majorities have usually been wrong, 
must not blind us to the complementary fact, 
that majorities have usually not been entirely 
wrong. 

[4] A candid acceptance of this general prin- 
ciple, and an adoption of the course it indicates, 
will greatly aid us in dealing with those chronic 
antagonisms by which men are divided. 

[5] Making a more rational estimate of hu- 
man authority, we shall avoid alike the extremes 
of undue submission and undue rebellion — shall 
not regard some men's judgments as wholly 
good and others as wholly bad ; but shall rather 
lean to the more defensible position that none 
are completely right and none are completely 
wrong. 



107 



